The autumn leaves are falling overhead. You sprint from door to door in hopes of getting the most candy possible. This has been the reality for children on Halloween day for as long as anyone can remember, but COVID had other plans in mind.

With the global pandemic still plaguing through our nation, trick-or-treating was altered for this year’s children. We did not see the normal setting of groups of kids walking from door to door, but we need to make sure that we do still see children out and about. 

Halloween is a day that every child looks forward to for the sole reason of getting candy, and luckily, that didn’t have to change this year. 

The worry crossed my mind like I’m sure it did many of yours: we didn’t want the kids to lose their Halloween experience. Thankfully, as a community we succeeded in making sure that while this year’s experience was different, it was also just as fun.

This year many houses found a solution that allowed both themselves and trick or treaters to be safe and socially distant. For example, this included sitting outside and tossing pieces of candy to them or leaving a bowl full of candy near the end of the driveway. 

Homewood and Flossmoor have both allowed Trick or Treating this year but advised that everyone follows social distancing guidelines. 

Anyone who opted out of traditional trick or treating this year, the HF park district is offered a unique experience for the community. The new Trick or Treat trail at millennium park was a safe socially distant activity for anyone ages 11 and under. 

This trail was showcased at Millennium Park on Halloween day. It consisted of volunteers stationed throughout the park passing out candy for the children. 

Many people in Homewood- Flossmoor ended up getting very creative with their methods of passing out candy to the children. The most common method I saw was a long PVC pipe set up that sloped downward toward the sidewalk. The homeowner would place a piece of candy on their end of the pipe and it would slide down into the baskets of the young trick-or-treaters. This not only created a safe way for kids to get candy but also made for a fun project to build all the homeowners.

On top of a makeshift slide at some houses, other houses hung clothes lines with bags of candy hung from them. This is nothing but a more creative and interactive version of a simple bowl of candy at a doorstep, and it ensures that kids wouldn’t be putting their hands all over the bowl for the next trick-or-treaters to come.